Forget-Me-Not
by BlueBellBerry
Summary: My faint smile began to falter as I stared at his back. My heart pounded against my chest, hammering its way out as it ached. My eyes slowly became unfocused; blurry vision - a single image seen indistinctly. A lump formed in my throat, and a bitter taste flooded my mouth. Yet here I stood, smiling bitterly, attempting to form words with my quivering voice. "Forget-Me-Not."
1. Chapter 1

Hello! Well, as you can see, I've decided to start off my very first post on this website with a Sasuke Uchiha FanFic!  
I hope you'll enjoy it, and if you do, please feel free to share your opinion by **reviewing, please**!

Honestly, it'll make my day and will prompt me to write quicker, haha!

_Until then, my lovelies_

_-Berry_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other of Masashi Kishimoto's works, I only own my characters which are incorporated into this story!_

* * *

It was like a thousand burning needles were jabbed in at the same time, shooting up and down my arm. Flop sweat burst out and it felt like a wave of nausea had just hit me, the backs of my bruised knees and elbows sleeked with a layer of moisture, almost on the brink of giving away.

But I continued waltzing my way down the village streets of Konohagakure; Filled-to-the-brim plastic bag's hanging at my elbow's and only cutting off just bellow my thighs. My tender sweaty palms were desperately trying to keep their grip onto the other end of the book's that I held stacked up on my scarred forearms and pressed against my chest suffocatingly. I could barley look around the corner of the piled up books with my already-craned neck.

As you can guess, it was summer in Konoha, though it felt like I was amidst Sunagakure. I could hear the cheerful cries of glee as the near-by academy had ended and their children had been released into the open, signaling that the holiday's had finally begun. Their merry voices rang in my ears, pulling slightly at the strings of my heart because I knew, I knew I'd never get a day off; Father would never allow it...

I shook my head, or at least attempted to, and forcefully pushed these thoughts to the back of my mind, and instead started to focus on the given task. Yet, _something_ still nagged me, I just couldn't pin-point. The weather must be affecting my brain. I found my attention caught by the flimsy texture of the faux blue flower tickling my ear. And then it hit me: In this weather, my flowers will start to wilt, and the ones in Grandmother's garden will dry out, too, if I don't hurry to water them...! This thought got me moving faster, my feet swiftly placing themselves one before the other in an attempt to pick up my pace and hurry back home. I could feel the eyes of villager's following me, amusement glinting in their eyes as I jogged past them unsteadily. I mean, this isn't _too_ hard; it's just my luck that I was sent out to run errands right after a harsh round of in-depth training... Though of course, luck is never in my favor.

"NARUTO!"

An angry yell up ahead sliced through the air, as well as the enraged shouts of the villager's further down the street. I tried to stretch out my neck further to see what the commotion was all about, but as soon as a got a peek at what's in front of me, I saw the man with his back to me jumped out of the way of what seemed to be an in-coming object. Before I could react, or even flinch for that matter, the man was replaced by a flash of orange and yellow and an enormous force crashed into me. Book's catapulted out of my reach and my bags hit the ground with a loud 'thud' as to my dismay, the now-demolished milk container inside spilled all over the sidewalk and the fruits inside the plastic which survived the accident rolled out onto the dirtied pavement.

We collapsed in a heap, my arm experiencing a searing pain that got worse with each passing second. The shock that was sent through my body was almost unbearable; my muscles cramped up on mine, practically tearing from my bones, as my hands curled into a claw. I lay there, unable to do anything except attempt to contain my pain. The weight of the books was now replaced by a different weight, one which was much heavier and moving to the raspy breathing I could hear, but it was soon lifted off revealing a young blonde boy with whisker-like marks on his cheeks. My face flushed as I realized what had just occurred on the bustling streets. What an embarrassment... The boy chuckled nervously while he scratched the back of his head as he heaved himself up, reaching out his hand to me once he was sure he had regained his balance.

"Sorry about that!"

His voice was scratchy, just like his breathing. I slowly propped myself up onto my wobbly elbows and interlaced my hand with his. Scoffs of the villagers could be heard in the background as he hoisted me up with an unexpected strength, almost causing me to bump into him once again. Huffing, I wriggled my hand out of his and took a step back. I dusted the end's of my silken Obi before finally looking around me. Tears formed at the corners of my eyes as I gasped at the sight to be seen on the ground.

I will be in alot of trouble with Father... He will be very displeased.

"H-Hey! Don't cry! I-I'll help you clean up, Dattebayo!"

I was tempted to open my mouth and retort to him, but of course, with the little courage I possessed I wouldn't have dared say anything. Instead, I silently began kneeling the middle of bending down to pick up the remains of the plastic bag closest to me, an angry yell sounded from right behind the boy.

"NARUTO! Look at what you've done now! Poor girl..."

A Jounin in a green vest walked up to us and slammed the palm of his hand down onto the head of the boy with green goggles atop his forehead. "Ouch!" Ignoring the boy's yells and flails, the man grabbed him by the ear and bowed down to me. "I am deeply sorry for the mess we have created." I hurriedly got up and clutched my hands together in front of me, immediately shaking my head rapidly from side to side. "Oh no! It is not your fault! I simply was too late to move out of the way... You mustn't apologize!" The Jounin looked up in surprise, only to see my head already dipped down to him. He laughed nervously.

"Well then I shall be going now, and I am guessing you have to go now, too?" I asked, bending slowly to my knees and packing the groceries into my bag again and piling up the books one again in order. The man nodded his head and waved towards me as he left, calling out another apology as he walked down the road, dragging the boy along with him.

This will be the death of me...

* * *

"You fool! You dare think about coming back here without the items I've requested and then coming up with a ridiculous story of an excuse like that? Control those unruly thoughts of yours, child!"

Another fist crashed down onto my skull as I stood still with my head down while I bowed. The pacing footsteps of the man I call 'Father' were echoing around the empty room. I didn't dare talk back… No-one can talk back to father...

"-And to think you'd be the last child of your mother; your origins are low to the point where you shall have to limbo under our family tree!"

That was one of my Father's favorite phrases. Constantly reminding me of how my mother is no more. The tears from before welled up in my eyes once again.

"-You have been made a fool of in public more times than the Akimichi clan. You should be glad that none of the Uchiha's had spotted you."

"I understand Otou-san. I deeply apologize for my foolish mistakes. I will make sure that never happens again."

He stopped pacing and stood directly in front of me, his cold glare burning through my skull.

"You better hope not, child. Otherwise I shall make sure you never see broad daylight again."

* * *

I could hear father yelling at one of his workers again... Even though they were downstairs, I could hear their conversation clearly. It wasn't very interesting nor did I want to listen in on boring conversations; I just felt sorry for the man who had to confront my father with the bad news. It seems like something had gone wrong when shipping weaponry to a man named Gatō from the Land of Waves. I've heard of him before, though his company isn't quite 'popular' right now, I know my father sees something in him. Otherwise, he wouldn't give that 'Gatō' a second thought.

_Knock Knock_

"Open the door, child!"

I jumped in surprise at the sunned voice of my Father. I scurried up to my feet and latched onto the door handle as I twisted the knob.

"Yes, Father?"

His gaze wondered around the room and then right snapped right back to meet my gaze.

"I shall be leaving for a time being, I will return in 5 hours. Have dinner prepared by then, and I expect every nook and cranny in this house to be scrubbed."

I bowed down to him and nodded my head.

"Of course, Father."

With a sharp flick of his wrist, the door was slammed back shut once again.

I straightened my back and turned around to the books lying on the floor. At the far end of my room wall, an armchair silently sat. It was a rather comfortable chair in my opinion, though accompanying it were a variety of books stacked up so high, they reach the chairs arms. Of course, these book piles were on either side of the sofa, but I guess these will all have to wait until tonight because, after all, I am a certified insomniac.

Hesitantly, I left the room and walked down the stairs cautiously, just incase my father hadn't taken my brothers with him. I stopped at the bottom of the stairwell, turning my head to look around the living room space. My house was huge. I've heard people call it a mansion, but I don't. To me, the word 'mansion' sounds snotty, even if my father constantly uses that word. To me, this place was more of an extremely large cage.

I went ahead and opened the door to my right, which led to the in-door training arena, but no one was there. I'm sure my brothers have decided to tag along with Father, otherwise this room would've been filled with the sound of buys roughhousing and shouting... So now I'm all alone, left behind once more. I strolled towards the door on my opposing side of the training room. This door leads to out garden, where I keep my flowers. Unlocking the door with the key in the hole, i slipped into the spare small pair of shoes I always kept by the door. Now, The sky was hued a light lavender and a cool summer breeze was wafting through the air, unlike before where heat waves were clashing upon the village. I grabbed my blue watering can and began filling it with water from the tap poking out of a small metal container against the wall. Looking up, it seemed that some of my blue flowers have wilted... I carefully tipped the can, letting the water gently drizzle over the flowers.

I made sure not to pour too much onto the flowerbed of Forget-Me-Not's, but once I was sure they had enough, I reached out and plucked one of the healthy one's from its spot in the dirt. The flower in my hair was identical to the one in my grip right now, the only difference being that one was fake while the other was real.

After checking up on all the other flowers, I headed back inside. I locked the door back up and stared at the clock on the wall. It's 5:48. Through the training room and back to the entrance room I went. I trotted over to the body-length mirror that stood near the entrance, by the vases and the framed weaponry on display. I stared back at my reflection and carefully tilted the flower that was bundled into my red hair... Red hair... My brothers would always tease me about it, saying things like 'What's that on your head? A mountain lions fur ball?' or 'Hah! You look like a tomato!' and it hurt... I didn't show it though; I always kept my face a void of emotion to them; Unreadable and blank.

Carefully, I shifted my headband so it'd be holding back my bangs out of my face before heading straight to the small closet-type room which contained all the necessaries for cleaning.

* * *

I flopped down onto the freshly polished marble floor, leaning my back against the white wall. It has took me hours on end to finish this... And with checking up on the food to see if it has burned or not, too.

Using the mop in my hands as a cane, I made my way over to the spacious kitchen. I could say that it seemed welcoming... Though only if you came over to eat, not to cook. Carefully climbing onto the counter seeing as to my dismay I was too short to reach up to the area I was going for, I reached for the dining nook atop the wall from which hung an assortment of stainless steel appliances. I carefully un-hooked the ladle from the clasp and gently slid off the counter. Getting out 5 off-white bowls from the wooden cupboard on my left, I set them down onto the burgundy counter. I dipped the ladle into the Hamaguri Ushio-jiru; Father's favorite soup since, seeing how he was vexed before, I've decided I might as well do this for my own good and attempt to please him with a nice meal...

Balancing the tray of bowls in one hand, and a pot of jasmine tea in the other, I cautiously made my way towards the large dinner table and set down the trays. I took my time sorting it all out and positioning the utensils and by the time I had finished, it was already 6:54. Father should be coming home soon... I was about to take a seat and rest when the sudden smash of a door jolted me to my feet.

"WE'RE BACK!"

I could recognize that voice from miles away... Father was back home, and it looks like Akihiro, Seiichi and Tadao are back, too...


	2. Chapter 2

Here's Chapter 2! If you like it, **please review**. I'd really appreciate it! Especially since I am new to all this. Oh, and if any of you are confused, this takes place back when Sasuke and the others were 10 as seen in flashbacks of Sasuke's and Itachi's pasts and the flashbacks in Naruto in general.

_Disclaimer: I do not own 'Naruto', neither do I own any other of Masashi Kishimoto's works. I only own my characters which are incorporated into this story!_

* * *

We were all sitting around the table. It'd have been completely quiet if it weren't for my brother's chatting and snickering away. This made me feel uneasy. Judging by the look on father's face; He was not pleased, and I was worried that the talking of my brother's would provoke and fuel him to anger even more. But I hope that the meal I made had taken away some of that rage...

Though this was the norm. My brothers had no sense of respect towards my father, or to anyone else for that matter. They also didn't know when to shut up, but father has never punished them for that. He liked my brother's more than me, and it's most likely partially because they inherited his looks; Jet-black hair and cyan eyes.

It was a tradition in our family; to have black hair. But eye-color varied. Like my Uncle has brown eyes, while his sister had a pair of emerald-green one's. But over all others, I prefer the dark onyx eyes of my grandmother, they just seem more enchanting to me. Then again; everything which I personally don't posses always seems fascinating.

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, waiting for father to say something. I had already finished my dinner, so I didn't have much of a choice other than to sit and wait until everyone was done. Just then, the talking of my brother's had been abruptly cut off as my father's voice boomed through the room.

"Leave, boys. I require to speak with your sister alone."

Picking up their plates and cups while pushing in their stools, they started chuckling.

"Busted~"

Cooed Seiichi, tugging at my hair strongly while Akihiro and Tadao followed suit. 'Generously' dumping the dirty dishes in the sink for me to clean, they strolled out of the room and with once last mocking glance over his shoulder, Seiichi and his 'followers' left. My brothers obviously had something against me, but I like to think that they're just following father's example.

An unnerving silence followed, an uncomfortable pause in the not-yet unpleasant nature of such silences is close to unbearable as I was slowly becoming anxious.

Had I done something wrong?

My father had always liked to pick up even the minimal flaws, whether intentional or not, and this built up the burden of the butterflies in my stomach. I started to feel the pressure on me to be the first to initiate the talk and speak up but am unsure of what to say.

What if I unintentionally offend him?

I mean, I want to start the conversation... But I think I'll leave that task to Father...

"I reckon that you know that we shall be paying a visit to the Uchiha's tomorrow, am I correct?"

"Of course, sir."

Ah yes, father has talked about this in the past. My first meeting with the Uchiha's; from the main branch, of course. I know that my brothers have already met them plenty of times before when they had decided to tag along with father. They'd always come back home in fury, yelling about how Fugaku was talking non-stop about someone by the name of 'Itachi' who was supposedly his eldest son. I also know that he is the man who I have been promised to. But father didn't know that I knew, and what he didn't know won't hurt him... Will it? My only hopes are that he isn't going to be a stubborn and stuck-up man, especially with all the praise I've heard he's been getting lately.

"I expect you to be on your best behavior. If you make a fool of yourself, you shall have to work very hard to stay alive. Do not forget, child."

"Yes, sir. I understand completely."

"Good. One false move is all it takes, Kaori. Only 1."

* * *

Father had hired a maid to dress me. I can understand though, someone as incompetent as me wouldn't be able to handle a Maru Obi, the most formal and delicate one of all I currently owned. The kimono I was required to wear was purely white with a pink floral pattern, made of silk with cotton lining. The Obi was a soft baby-pink tint, tailored to fit my small frame, but long enough to fit my height and form. I stood on a small wooden stool as the maid fiddled around with the last adjustments and replaced my dark pink ribbon-headband with a softer, milky white one to match the kimono.

Tightening the bow at the back of the Obi and adjusting my blue flower in my hair, she helped me off the stool and bowed down.

"Thank you." I bowed my head back.

"You are welcome, Nagatomi-san."

And with those last words, she backed out of the room and closed the door. As soon as I was sure she wouldn't return, I started shifting around and itching my side where the cotton lining was pressed against. I found this really uncomfortable, but I had to do this, for father.

"KAORI!"

The sudden voice of my father scared me as I hurriedly checked myself over in the mirror and ran towards the door, throwing it open and then running down the stairs.

"I am on my way, Father!"

I jumped down the last few stairs and stopped running as I rounded the corner to where my father stood at the exit, tapping his food impatiently.

"What has taken you so long? I had demanded you down here by 12."

"I am very sorry, Father. I shall make sure this doesn't happen again."

With a sharp grunt directed towards me, he flung the door open and walked out, me trailing along behind him; trying to keep up with his swift, quick steps. This was the first time that father took me outside with him, so I didn't dare say a word.

After a while of walking, I could see the village side slowly starting to become plastered with the Uchiha clan's symbol; A white red-tipped uchiwa fan. Father came to a sudden stop, forcing me to stop beside him.

"We have established the rules, am I correct?"

I nodded, staring up into his eyes.

Once again, we continued on and in about another 2 minutes, I could already see the narrow pathway that led to the house I assumed we were heading to.

Stepping onto the porch, father knocked on the door, waiting for it to be opened. I could hear shuffling inside of the house before the door had finally opened and a man stood in the doorway.

"Ah, Izanagi."

"Fugaku."

The both entered the house and embraced in a brotherly hug. Never before have I seen my father do this. Not even with his own brother.

I shyly stood at the edge on the door, peaking my head around it to watch another woman walk in and shake hands with father. Behind the woman were 2 boys following her. While one of them looked around my age, the one to the left looked much older than him and so I assumed that it was the man they called Itachi. I watched him as he bowed his head to father and shook his hand; A lighthearted smile gracing his lips. Though the one next to him lightly bounced in excitement and he shook father's hand, too.

After engaging in a short 10-second conversation, the woman looked around questionably.

"Now, where is that girl of yours?"

Father's head snapped to look over his shoulder, noticing that I was missing.

"She was right h-"

I slowly emerged from my position around the corner, now standing dead-center in the doorway, shyly looking at the ground and folding my hands in front of me.

"Ah, There she is!"

The woman walked up to me and kneeled down to my height, holding her hand out to me.

"My name is Mikoto, Itachi and Sasuke's mother."

She smiled gently. Her presence was welcoming, so I did the right thing and took her hand, bowing my head low in respect.

"I am Kaori. It is my pleasure to meet you, Uchiha-san."

She chuckled lightly at my words and clasped her other slender hand over my tiny one. I looked up at her, surprised.

"Please, just call me Mikoto-san, dear."

I smiled back at her and nodded. She confirmed with a nod of her own and stood up, leading me towards the other's. I slowed my pace to make an attempt to hide behind her, but she tugged at my hand.

"Don't be shy, now. It's alright."

I innerly sighed and walked by her side, stopping once I was by my father again. Fugaku nodded towards me with a straight face.

"It is an honor to finally meet you, sir."

I spoke and bowed my head to him, too. With the straight face he was keeping, he was staring to make me think that I had done something that was out of line. I worriedly glanced up at Mikoto once I resided from my bow, and I think she understood what I meant because she then turned me towards the 2 boys.

The boy who was around my age tugged at his elder brother's shirt with his cheeks tinted pink. He slowly began to stand on his tiptoes to try and whisper something into his brothers ears, but before he could get out a word, Mikoto had let go of my hand to walk behind them and slapped the young boy over the head. He clutched the back of his skull as his cheeks began to switching from pink to crimson.

Mikoto rolled her eyes and put her hands on both of the boy's shoulders.

"Kaori, these are my sons; Sasuke and Itachi."

Itachi reached out his hand to wards me, putting a smile on his face once more. His large hand clasped over my smaller ones, practically consuming them in his.

"It's my pleasure to meet you, Itachi-san."

His chuckle ringed in my ears. The aurora he gave off way similar to his mothers, yet his looks resembled the ones of his fathers.

"The pleasure is all mine, Kaori-chan."

I smiled up at him and then sidestepped towards Sasuke. This time, I had held my hand out.

"It's nice to meet you, Sasuke-kun."

He hesitantly reached his hand out, and lapsed onto mine. I shook our hands gently. His eyes were onyx.

I knew Fugaku had been watching this whole time, but I could sense his gaze turning away from us and towards father.

"Now, shall we go and have some tea? Mikoto?"

Mikoto nodded.

"Of course, Darling. Let me go and fetch the snacks."

Before walking off, she patted my back and looked at us.

"How about you all go out for a walk?"


	3. Chapter 3

Vola, Chapter 3! The next chapter will be the last for the 'Age 10' section, and it'll [hopefully] explain the relationship between the Uchiha's and Nagatomi's [Kaori's clan] and answer any questions you may have. On another note, a big Thank You to you guys who reviewed, it really prompted me to finish this chapter. If you like this story/just want to share your opinion; **please review!** Haha, I'll stop rambling now.

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, neither do I own any other of Masashi Kishimoto's works. I only own my characters which are incorporated into this story!_

On with the story~!

* * *

Grasping my hand in his, Itachi helped me down from the porch.

"Brother, where're we going?"

As excited as ever, Sasuke ran ahead and began looking around enthusiastically. Itachi-san let out a blithely chuckle and began walking, leading me to walk along side of him. Patting Sasuke on the crown of his head, we continued strolling down the narrow rubble path.

"How about we head over to the training area? Maybe you could teach Kaori some new tricks."

With another happy grin adorning his face, Sasuke nodded rapidly.

"Yeah!"

I could feel the gaze of Itachi-san's eyes burning down on me as I latched onto his hand with one of mine. Smiling, he reached down and patted my hair lightly, using the opportunity to grasp a lock of my fiery strands; practically examining it with his eyes.

"My, what an unusual hair color you have there."

I turned my head the other way; averting my gaze away from him. I wasn't sure if he meant it as an indirect compliment, or if this was his way of trying to offend me in an earnest way. Even though hair like mine is said to be passed on to energetic, outspoken, stubborn and strong-willed fighters; I was the opposite of this. I'm not a fighter, I don't dare speak up even when knowing I'm not in the wrong, I don't defy the rules set up for me or rebel, and I know when to give up and run. I don't live up to those expectations. That being said, I don't live up to many expectations.  
Almost as if sensing my gloom, Sasuke turned to face me abruptly,

"I like your hair,"

he stated with a merry tone, clasping his hands together behind his back and smiling. Surprised at his sudden comment, I stared at him almost in disbelief. A tradition in my family was black hair. To them, this was a sign of wealth and beauty. I shamed Father with this hair I have. If Father doesn't like it, then why should anyone else like it? That's how I went about everything; what Father doesn't like, no-one likes.

"it's the color of tomato's,"

A typical comment.

"and I like tomato's!"

Onyx met violet as I look him in the eyes, almost searching for even a tiny hint of dishonesty or teasing, but I found none. Assured that he wasn't joking with me, my lips began tugging up into a smile, and a lighthearted laugh escaped from my mouth. The childishness in his voice was refreshing, to say at the least. All I ever heard was my Father's strict tone and old men and Jounin's grumbling while stating coldhearted truths, yet the up-beat tone in Sasuke's youthful voice was new to me. It was enlightening.

"Thank you, Sasuke-san."

I bowed my head to him graciously, using actions in attempt to express my sincere gratitude. Surprised by my sudden formal acts, he hurriedly nodded his head as well, a flustered look clear on his face. "Y-You're welcome, Kaori-chan!" He replied, attempting to conceal his expression by letting the thin strands of his dark hair fall around him and frame his face. I found it comical, and apparently so did Itachi because he had began chuckling at the sight before him, earning himself a slight glare and pout shot in his direction from his younger brother.

Just then, a shadow fell over us, and that's when I realized the rubble path we had used led to a large forest district. Looking to my right, vibrant emerald green look over my sight as I shaded my eyes with my spare hand as the sun shone down through the tree branches, the warm rays tingling on my skin. Opening my mouth to speak, I cut myself off as the sound of the soles of someones shoes scraping against the pebbles and dry earth in rapid foot steps caught my attention. Turning back to face the front, I could see the figure of Sasuke in the distance jogging into an open field, the aura of excitement practically radiating off of him.

"This is the training ground Sasuke uses. Excuse his excitement."

Itachi stated good-naturedly, smiling broadly as he watched his kid brother almost burst with energy as he waved towards them, almost as if to hurry them up. The brotherly and protective look in his eyes was foreign to me. I was used to my older brothers looking at me with a stare of distaste or sneering. I felt a slight hint of envy hit me upon realizing how lucky Sasuke was to have a brother like Itachi to look up to and be shielded by. I shook my head in attempt to clear this feeling of jealousy. It was an unpleasant emotion to give off, especially when it gets to the point where you wish harm upon others, and that isn't right to me.

As soon as we stepped into the clearing Sasuke was standing in the center of, I looked around curiously and caught sight of all the training mannequins set up around the area. Red and white target markings were painted sloppily onto the stomachs of the dummies, and although nearly all of them were pierced with kunai and shuriken, none of them punctured the red center of the targets.

I was drawn out of my thoughts when my free hand was suddenly grasped by one similarly sized to mine and I was yanked out of Itachi's reach. I looked up to meet Sasuke's glistening gaze.

"Let's go and spar!"

Pulling at my hand once again, he let me back to the center where he had been standing before. Upon noticing that Itachi stayed rooted to his place on the end of the trail. "Brother, are you coming?" He looked over his shoulder with a confused expression. Without a word, Itachi smiled bitterly and shook his head and turned around, beginning to walk back along the way we came from. Letting go of my hand hurriedly, Sasuke ran in front of his brother, crossing his arms over his chest with a stubborn pout.

"You said that you'd spend today with me and Nagatomi-san's daughter!" He exclaimed, an annoyed tone in his voice. Itachi sighted and jabbed his index and middle finger onto his brother's forehead, causing Sasuke to stumble back. Stepping around the cringing boy, Itachi walked away without sparing a glance back. With his eyes still closed in pain, Sasuke rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand. Hesitantly, I moved from my spot and began approaching the boy, my steps silent and careful, as if he'd run away if I made a sound.

I took one last step and took my place in front of him, my hands fumbling with the silk fabric of my clothing. Tilting my head, I peered at his face.

"...Sasuke-san?"

Was all I was able to mutter. Without a reply, he let his hand fall back to his side. With half-open eyes, he stared at the ground, a gloomy look to his expression. Once realizing that he wasn't about to reply, I did the only thing I could think of. I grabbed his hand and tugged him to one side of the field before letting go and walking over to the other side of the pasture. Turning around to face him, I gave him a determined look.

"Let us spar."

Getting into position, I waited for his consent. Looking up to meet my gaze, he nodded unsurely before getting into his stance as well. The gloomy look had been replaced by sparks of irritation, irritation directed to wards his brother; but I've decided to let him take it out on me. I know that Itachi most likely had a good reason to leave; all those looks he had given his little brother and that bitter smile when he had to leave weren't for nothing, but Sasuke didn't realize that.

Beckoning him with a nod, he charged towards me, throwing punches only for me to dodge. The clothing I was wearing restricted my movement and is very fragile, one sudden move would rip it, and Father would be extremely displeased. I settled on blocking his hits with my forearms and moving out of the way.

* * *

My heart was pounding and my breathing was heavy. Gasping for air, I wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand whilst looking over to see Sasuke's exhausted form slumped against the trunk of a tree. We had fought for hours now, thought it was more of a close-combat rather than anything else. I'll admit, I am more skilled when it comes down to long-range attacks due to my use of ninjutsu and my knowledge in seals and ability to concentrate. Over-all, my graceful yet lacking fighting style only relies on cunning and strategic force and never brute force.

With a sigh, I attempted to recompose myself and catch my breath once I saw that it was beginning to get dark. The sky was a pastel orange and light blue, and the cool are of the night tousled my choppy hair around gently. Sparing one last glance upwards, I averted my attention back to Sasuke and watched him get up. The previous bitter look he wore was now replaced with a tired grin.

"We should get going." I stated, sparing him a slight smile before turning to walk towards the path we had come from. Before I could take more than a couple steps forwards, I paused at the sight. Without the sun shining brightly, it all looked different than it had before. Noticing my reactions, Sasuke confidentially walked ahead, grasping my hand in the process of walking by. The dark, looming trees scared me slightly, but I kept silent and followed him.

Just then, Sasuke stopped in the middle of his tracks, forcing me to stop with him.

"Hey, look! These ones look just like the one in your hair!"

Following his index finger with my gaze, I spotted what he was referring to. We had stopped in front of a batch of blue flowers. Upon the first few seconds of examining them, I registered that they were Forget-Me-Not's. With the way Sasuke had worded the sentence, I could easily tell he didn't know of their name. I looked back at the boy next to me.

"They're called Forget-Me-Not's."

I stated, and watched as his eyebrows raised in amusement. It was a strange name to call a flower, but then again, Violets are misleading and odd hence they are blue. Eyeballing the faux flower in my hair strangely, he gestured towards it.

"Where does the name come from?" He finally questioned, meeting my gaze again.

I began to explain the myth of the Forget-Me-Not.

_'Back then, it was supposed that the wearers of the flower will not be forgotten by their lovers._

_Legend has it that in the time where the Senju ruled, a noble ninja and his lady were walking along the side of a river. He picked a posy of flowers, but because of the weight of his war armour, he fell into the river. As he was drowning he threw the posy to his loved one and shouted "Forget-me-not". This is a flower connected with romance and tragic fate. It was often worn by ladies of different clans as a sign of faithfulness and enduring love.'_

Sasuke directed his eyes back to the flower bundle.

"Oh."

The query look on his face suddenly disappeared as he squatted down and reached for one of the flowers.

"Sasuke-san, what're you-"

A tearing sound cut me off as I squeezed my eye's shut at the sudden noise and action he had done, bringing my hands up to cover my face.

When nothing happened, I slowly shifted my index finger to the side, creating a small slot for me to peek through.

I hesitantly removed my hands from my face completely, eye's wide as I starred at the flower in Sasuke's grip as he held it out to me; smiling.

"Here!"

He shoved his hand further in my direction, indicating for me to take what he held in his grasp. Carefully, I reached out my hand and gently took hold of the blue flower in his hands, delicately removing it from his grip and into my own. It took me a while to process what had just happened. A lighthearted grin and a warm feeling in my heart slowly rose. Looking up, the boy still wore the same merry expression. It's nice to have someone share the feeling of a building friendship with you.

"So that you won't forget me!"

Nodding, I said all I could manage to make out with in my still-shocked state:

"Thank you, Sasuke."

* * *

I've been visiting the Uchiha's a lot, lately. I can see that it makes father happy; especially since I get to talk with Itachi every other day. I've helped Mikoto cook when I came in time for supper and such. I have even mustered up the courage to tell her that I think she's really pretty, and she laughed and thanked me for that, too.

Father didn't know, but I have begun to like Sasuke more than Itachi. Whenever I visited and Itachi was on a mission, Sasuke and me would go sparring in the training fields. And whenever he came home from academy, we'd talk about his day and I would find out more and more of what it's like to go to academy. He's told me about a blonde boy in his class who's always causing trouble, and I told him about how I had run into a blonde boy named Naruto on my way home from the shops. It turns out that it was the exact same boy he'd been talking about. He's even told me about the girls in his class who squealed over him; it was quite an embarrassing subject for him to talk about, but I am glad that he opened up to me...

I was hoping it could stay like this forever, but of course; it's just my luck, right?


	4. Chapter 4

I present to you, Chapter 4! Here's the last of the so-called 'age 10 section'. Again, **please review**, especially because right now I'm very skeptical about this and the last Chapter, and it's really help me if you could please share your opinion/thoughts on this with me because I feel as if the Chapter wasn't good enough, and neither is this one... Ah well.

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, neither do I own any other of Masashi Kishimoto's works. I only own my characters which are incorporated into this story!_

* * *

I had told father that I'll be paying another visit to the Uchiha's; Just like I do almost every day. I didn't have to wear anything too formal anymore, and since I promised Sasuke that we'd have a match today, I just dressed in my average training gear. I carefully let my butterfly knives drop into the pouch strapped around my left thigh.

My weapon of choice has always been a pair of Butterfly Swords. It's is about as long as the human forearm, which makes it easy to conceal inside sleeves or boots, and it allows for greater maneuverability when spinning and rotating during close-quarters fighting. It can also be used as a knuckleduster and to block or hook the opponent's weapon. It's very efficient, especially since my abilities fail when it comes to close-range combat, so my way to defend myself from good close-range comat fighters is to use this defencive weapon instead of one that is used for offense. This is all besides the point, though.

I headed out after securing the pouch straps in their place, and began walking down the same route I do everyday. Of course, over time I had managed to memorize the area by heart. Now, one could ask me anything about this area and I'll tell you the precise location of it.

As always, I stepped onto the porch and knocked on the door, patiently waiting for Mikoto to open the door. It took a couple of seconds, but the door opened and Mikoto's head poked out from be hind the door before looking down and finally noticing me.

"Oh! Kaori, you're right on time! I was about to bake a cake, would you like to help me?"

I took off my shoes once I was inside and looked around.

"Is Sasuke not back yet?"

Mikoto shook her head.

"He'll be back in a couple of hours. So what do you say; Do you want to bake a cake for Sasuke and Itachi as a surprise?"

I nodded right away. I can't say that I wanted to bake a cake, I was just eager to be able to help out. I went with it and followed Mikoto into the kitchen. She unhooked an apron from the hint on the wall and handed it to me. Tying it with my arms behind my back carefully, we proceeded to gather the ingredients. Mikoto listed the things we needed while I gathered them and set them down onto the counter.

"-And 3 eggs. You got that, Kaori?"

Shutting the fridge, I set it all down and re-counted everything in my mind and then confirmed with a single nod and one word,

"Yes."

Clapping her hands together, Mikoto pulled out the small stool that she always let me stand on while cooking. Stepping onto it cautiously, we got to work.

* * *

A vanilla, butter, spices and milk scent wafted through the air. We had let the cake cool off and have now brought it back to the kitchen, where we had laid out all of the icing and decorations and such. We had been sharing stories over a cup of tea while the cake was sat on the window sill, so I went ahead and cleaned up the table while Mikoto frosted the cake with a milky white icing.

One again, I stood up on the stool. Grabbing the white remaining frosting that lay on the side, I began to draw a large, white flower in the center of the cake. Mikoto laughed gently. We then decided to decorate around the flower. Adding the last touches, we set the cake onto the table on the floor, and backed away to admire our creation.

Just then, a voice from just around the corner yelled out and the sound of the door being thrown open was heard.

"I'm home!"

Sasuke entered the kitchen while shuffling through his bag.

"I brought th-"

He cut off his sentence once he looked up and realized I was there. I grinned widely at him and closed my eyes. I knew that my cheeks were smeared with whipped cream because I'd kept on whipping my face with my hand, forgetting that I had just touched the whipped cream when whipping off the excess, but I hadn't bothered washing it off.

"Kaori!"

Pulling the strap of his backpack over his head, he threw the bag onto the area by the door and came running towards the table.

"Can I have some?"

He flopped onto the floor with his legs folded underneath him as I went and brought him a plate and a fork meanwhile Mikoto cut off a slice and placed it onto the plate once I set it down.

Imminently, Sasuke stabbed his fork into the slice of cake.

"Would you like some tea with that?"

With a mouth full of food, he managed to utter his voice through the barrier of cake.

"Yes please!"

I chocked back a laugh at the painfully clear lisp in his voice as he attempted to speak with his mouth full and went to fetch one of the porcelain cups. I filled it up with the remaining plum blossom tea in the kettle from back when me and Mikoto had drank some.

"Thank you very much!"

I nodded as I set the cup down onto his table.

"When shall we head out?"

* * *

I threw myself onto the dirty ground, panting.

"C'mon Kaori! Just 1 more match!"

I shook my head, letting go of my 2 knives. Even the ground seemed comfortable right now. I was exhausted.

Sasuke pouted, huffing.

"Hn, so mean..."

I knew he didn't mean it, so I ignored the statement and rolled over to my side. Sasuke's force is too strong compared to my marble-sized one. It was obvious that I would be the first to give out... But he looked surprised when I ran up a tree to dodge his attack. I'm guessing they've never taught them such things in academy yet, so I used my chakra control to my advantage.

Me and Father had used up more time than necessary to teach me that trick. I went through a lot of hits to the head and bruises on my legs to achieve this, so I'm glad that it has come in handy.

I gazed up at the sky from the corner of my eye. The sun was setting already. I should get going.

Struggling to lift myself up, I supported my shoulder against the tree beside me and began to pick up all the weapons that were lying around.

"Kaori? What're you doing?"

My throat was dry and I couldn't rasp a word, so I pointed at the sky. His eye's followed my index finger and landed on the already-crimson sky.

"Oh..."

He walked over to where I was standing, and began to help me. After we'd collected all the kunai's and such and put them into their rightful pouches, Sasuke had let me lean onto his shoulder as he carried my bag and his as we strolled out of the forest.

Once we've reached the road in the open clearing, he hesitated to hand me back my bag.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?"

I sighed, taking my bag from him and pushing myself up and off of his shoulder.

"I shall be alright, Sasuke."

I sent a smile his way to make sure that he knows I'm ok. He smiled back, though he still looked a little hesitant.

The sky was beginning to darken, and that was my cue to start running home.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Sasuke!"

"Alright, and thank you again for training with me!"

* * *

I was no-where near home. It all looked so different at night, just like the training grounds had looked like before. I remember that I should head right over here and then I sho-

An ear-piercing scream echoed through the air. I whipped around, in the direction of the Uchiha compound. Of course, my first thought was:

What _was_ that?

Another yell ripped through the silence of the dark night. I felt uneasy... Is Sasuke ok? Itachi should've been back from his mission hours ago... I tried to ignore it and just turned the corner ahead to continue my walk home, but an uncomfortable feeling settled on my chest, pressing down and compressing my ribs.

I **_can't_** walk away...

So I did the only thing I could think of: I ran. I ran towards the Uchiha compound; my heart beating in my chest.

_Sasuke...Itachi..._

Upon getting back to the path which headed to the Uchiha's house, I could see dead bodies lying in pools of blood by the walkway and outside of their own houses. One glance at the torn rice-paper walls and you could easily pick out their failed struggles to flee from whatever had been attacking them. Without a second thought, I ran past them. I only have 1 goal: To make sure Sasuke and his family were safe.

I arrived there in the matter of minutes, hence I was still tired and confused. I threw open the door which had been left unlocked. You could see shattered pieces of glass from the windows scattered on the floor.

I quietly began walking through the house, being cautions not to step on any shards. I came to a stop in a doorway. Slowly, I reached out my hand and tugged open the door.

I was too late.

There, in the middle of the room, lay Mikoto's and Fugaku's dead bodies. I took a couple steps forwards in attempt to approach them; to check if at least one of them was still breathing, but something was lying on the floor, or rather, _someone_ was.

Sasuke lay there. I could hear his shallow breathing and he looked heavily injured.

"Oh! Sasuke are y-"

A growl emitted from his throat as I had tried to advance towards him; to see if I could help him somehow.

He slowly lifted his shaky elbows and pressed his palms against the cold floor, trying to push himself himself up.

"You... _You_ knew, _didn't you_?"

His voice was aggressive. I didn't know what he meant though...

"Sasuke, I-"

"_You_ were just a here today to distract me while he did this, _weren't you_!"

His arms were wobbling, and soon they gave out and he fell back onto the floor.

"_Traitor..._"

Those were the last words I heard him say before he passed out.

And the last time I had ever seen him since that forsaken day...

* * *

My Father is very happy, and it disgusts me. Finally, the obstacle in his path was gone: the Uchiha's.

The Nagatomi has been concidered an ally to the Uchiha clan for centuries, due to their services for the Konoha Police Force. As the name indicate's ['Naga' meaning 'eternal' and 'Tomi' meaning 'Rich/Wealthy'], the Nagatomi was a very wealthy clan, and with their access to such wealth, they had assisted the Police Force by providing for their weapons as well as armour for armies.

As the Uchiha has started to take over the village, envy had clouded the vision of the clan's 'leader'. Even though, they hadn't attacked or ambushed the Uchiha. Being the stealthy and 'cunning' [as well as power hungry] clan they were, they began to provide more and more weapons and donated all the more money to the force. In attempt to take over some of the Uchiha's power, they had convinced the Uchiha to let them unite their clans.

How? By wedding the in-famous Itachi Uchiha to the next girl to be born into the family; me. My mother had died after getting into a conflict with the elder's, though not because they killed her, but because of all the stress that had been put on her. My mother had a sort of 'sickness', you see, one which effects her when she is put under pressure. It was almost like going insane; You hear cracks and pop's going off in your head like explosions, you can't concentrate on tasks, and your head baisically goes into caos. Of course, no ninja can survive for quite long if it constantly feel's like their head if being compressed, and so she died.

This trait has been passed onto me. After this, it was up to my Father to take care of me as well as my 3 other older brother's. My Father put me under harsh training, showing no mercy. I had never attended academy and had always trained under her father, but his expectations are too large for me. He had always been disapointed in my lowly abilities, causing him to despise me more.

I was not happy, not at all. It pained me to think that Sasuke was all alone now, and it was all Itachi's doing. I'm convinced that the 'protective big-brother' act was all a facade which we had all fallen for; especially me.

Although all this has occurred, my Father still confines me in my room, away from others. The only times I was allowed out, was for out-door training or when running errands for Father. Hence, I was always forced to sneak out to visit the docter's if I had been badly injured during training [Broken ribs, deep scars, internal bleeding etc.] Outside, one would only see me when I was stumbling my way to the hospital, running and tripping my way back home with bags and books in my hands, or delivering weapons to my Father. My hair was kept short by my father, to him, long hair during training was 'a nuicense' but to me, long hair was considered pretty as I had always wanted long hair like the girl's at the academy. As guiltless as I want to be; the truth is I had always envyed the girl's at the academy.

But what I want doesn't matter. My 'want's' are selfish aspires, Father says. And what Father says, goes.

Because Father is always right.


	5. Chapter 5

I present to you: Chapter 5~ I'm still feeling uneasy about the last 2 chapters and how they were written, so I'd greatly appreciate it if you guys **review, please!** I guess that my pessimistic-ness passed on to this chapter, because it's shorter than the 4 other ones... Any-who~ This chapter is where the 'age 12 arc' begins, so enjoy~

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, neither do I own any other of Masashi Kishimoto's works. I only own my characters who've been incorporated into the story!_

* * *

I walk out of the well-lit, peaceful, cool fan-conditioned comfort of the bookshop. Immediately, I was hit by a blast of hot air from the street. Ah, the difference is so great. Out on the five-foot way I break into a sweat, but I continue strolling down the path.

Next to the bookshop are two sundry shops. The smell emanating from these shops tingles my nose and floods my senses. The mixture of onion, garlic, dried fish, pepper and spices make a potent combination. I hold my breath for a moment as I walk quickly past the various markets. I have always wondered how the people working inside the shops can stand the smell. Perhaps they are used to it.

The streets were bustling with crowds and crowds of citizens. It's about one o'clock in the afternoon and numerous Jounin are out for their lunch break, running down the roads in their green vests scurrying towards the small food courts further down the path. I need to cross to the other side but one look tells me that it is too hazardous to do so since lunch hour finds it insufferable to do so. People were walking in conflicting directions and did not seem to be in the mood to make way for any other pedestrians. I decide to cross via patience.

I wander over to one of the less thronged zones of the streets as I pass many other shops. They were mainly shops selling clothes, shoes and equipment.

I passed by the supermarket where throngs of people can be seen at the entrance. A beggar sits on the steps, arms outstretched, eyes leading for alms. I drop 5 coins into his unwashed palm. I can't help but feel sorry for people like him, but he reeks of cheap sake.

I was a small patch of people lingering unwearyingly by the flank of the road while others were rushing back and forth, so I waited for the chance to cross with them. Even though the area smells of strong spices and the voices of thousands of individuals is ringing though the air, not one of us flinches. A bit of a hold up is not going to prevent anyone from crossing the street.

Soon, a brief opening was crafted as individuals began to slow down to let others walk by. I cross briskly to the other side.

Once across I make a bee-line for the weaponries plant. There are too many people trying to crowd under the shade of the stand. There is no place for me so I stand under the sun; it's bright rays pounding down on me.

The fragrance of food wafts over to my current location from the food stalls nearby. My stomach growls in response. The smell came from a near-by ramen store. I've never seen it before and I wouldn't mind grabbing a bite or two... But father expects me home by 1:30... Ah well, I'll hurry and make it quick, just a short trip in and out of the store, right? Wrong.

My arms swayed, simultaneously, back and forth. Unconsciously, my legs began carrying me from point A to point B. As I neared the small store, I could make out the words 'Ichiraku Ramen' printed on the small square pieces of cloth that hung off the edge of the buildings roof.

The closer I got, the stronger the scent became, and the more my stomach seemed like a hollow empty vastness that extends to the edges of the universe that yearns to be filled.

With just a couple of more steps, I cautiously ducked under the fabric off the edge of the roof and took in my surroundings. The first thing to catch my eye was a pile of stacked-up upside-down ramen bowls. The remaining liquid, which had been in them, was slowly dripping down and onto the table below, as well as tiny pieces of noodle strips hanging out of the dishes, creating a huge mess.

And that was not all. Near the wall of the stall, you could hear the sounds of obnoxious slurping emitting from a blonde boys mouth. I scrunched up my nose at the utterly repulsive sound. Hasn't this boy been taught any matters?

"Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen! How may I help you?"

I jumped at the sudden voice, quickly turning my head towards the girl that had called out to me.

"Oh! U-Umm,"

I hastily pulled out a stool from near the counter and sat down, warily placing my weighty bag along with the books onto the floor beneath me. I turned to face the lady once again, flustered.

"One Miso Ramen, please."

The lady nodded and got to work. I let out a deep sigh, and began rummaging through my bag, checking to see if I had actually bought everything.

"_Hey!_ I haven't seen you before!"

I directed my gaze up, just to be faced with someone's index finger pointed directly at me. Gently, I took a light hold of the hand and moved it away from my line of sight and onto the table. How rude.

The boy who pointed at me was the exact same one who had been slurping the whole time. The spiky blonde hair, the energetic blue eyes, the striking orange jumpsuit, and that scratchy voice.

_Naruto. _

"You do not remember me?"

Then again, I supposed you don't just remember a stranger you ran down on the streets 2 years ago.

In thought, the boy had gone cross-eyed and was staring at the ceiling. I could just _hear_ the gears turning in his head. He lowered his eyes back down and onto me, his gaze darting from my eyes, to my hair, and finally on the blue flower amidst my locks of red. Suddenly, his eyes snapped back to meet mine.

"_AH HAH_! You were that girl who I ran into!"

I smiled slightly, nodding. He grinned back, chuckling nervously and rubbing the back of his head; just like he had done when we first met. Behind him I could see a Jounin watching me, the same one who had been chasing Naruto down the streets.

"Heh, yeah. Sorry about that."

"It is alright."

A bowl of ramen had been placed in front of me during our conversation, so I picked up the chopsticks, removed them from their wrapping, and with a 'crack' I tore them apart and dug into the food.

I could still feel Naruto's eyes on me as I ate. I shifted in my seat uncomfortably, as if to show him how uneasy I was feeling under his intense stare.

"I haven't ever seen you in academy. Aren't you a ninja? I mean like, you're carrying around all these dumb boring books and that equipment, so l-"

Cutting him off by placing my chopsticks on top of my bowl, I cleared my throat lightly and then turned my body towards him.

"I am homeschooled by my Father."

Naruto scrunched up his nose, a confused expression on his face.

"So, you ARE a ninja?"

This time, it wasn't me sighing, it was the Jounin behind him.

"Yes, Naruto. She _is_ a ninja, she just doesn't go to academy."

The blond boy turned to face the Jounin, a perplexed expression still on his face.

"But WHY?"

Both of their gazes turned towards me; both focused on me.

"The academy would gladly accept you in. There's still space for plenty more children to join."

Stated the man in the green vest, thoughtfully. I paused. I had always wanted to join the academy yet never got the chance to. I contemplated over it for a second but then shook my head as soon as I thought of how mad Father would be at me if I had signed up for Academy. Without uttering another word, I leaned down to pick up my bag and books before jumping off the stool after placing money onto the booth. It was already 1:20, and I only had 10 minutes to get home.

"_HEY_! Wait, you never told me your name!"

I paused, then looked over my shoulder and faced Naruto.

"Kaori Nagatomi."

Without any further hesitating, I exited the store. Naruto's and the Jounin's gazes burning onto my back. The last audible thing I heard was the kind lady behind the stall shouting a 'good-bye' directed towards me.


End file.
